From the BLM/Interior impact statement

Addresses the District Court’s decision: This screening criteria was developed in recognition of the District Court’s finding that CPAI did not have unfettered right to extract “all possible” oil and gas from its leases and to evaluate whether an alternative concept directly addresses the District Court’s directive to BLM to consider alternatives that would reduce infrastructure and environmental impacts relative to CPAI’s proposal (i.e., Alternative B), and specifically that would reduce infrastructure and impacts within the TLSA.

IOW instead of approving three drilling sites (199 wells, down from the initial 240) they could have instead approved one. That would have effectively killed it.

In light of the recent IPCC report and Biden's own campaign ("climate change is an existential threat"), approving more fossil fuel infrastructure on public lands is myopic (most drilling in the US is done on private lands, so it's not like drilling is coming to a stop). The decision was driven by political expediency. The Biden administration has also approved oil & gas exploration in the Beaufort sea, approved a railway to allow more oil from Utah's Uinta basin, and an auction for the largest ever leases in the Gulf. Overall on the climate front he's been a disappointment at best.

(The much touted IRA spends 0.1% of GDP in total over ten years, it's baby steps at best. But given Manchin that's the best they could do. However in regards to federal lands he could have done more.)